Grain-door



P. CHESEBRO. GRAIN DOOR.

APPucAnoN man sans. 191s. l ,336,068, Patented Apr. 6,1920,

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GRAIN DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.9| 1918.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

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GRAIN DOOR.

APPLICATION man sEPT.9. 1918.

Patnted Apr. 3 SHtETS-SHE 3.

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PARIS CHESEBRO, 0F FAIRPORT, NEW YORK.

GRAIN-DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

Application filed September 9, 1918. Serial No. 253,199.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PARIS CHnsEBRo, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Fairport, in the county of Monroe and State of NewYork, have invented a new and Improved Grain-Door, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates in general to doors designed for use on carsemployed in carrying grain or like commodities, and has particularreference to doors of the flexible type guided alongl their side edgesand adapted when open to lie in a horizontal position adjacent the roofof the car.

An object of the present invention is to provide a door of the characterand for the purpose described that may readily be brought to open orclosed position, that will occupy but a minimum amount of space, andthat will effectively close the door opening against leakage of grain.

The door is slidably supported and guided along its side edges inchannels and when opened is moved from its normal, vertical position toa horizontal position just beneath the roof of the car. Thisnecessitates forming the door of flexibly connected sections, andanother object of the invention is to make these connections of such acharacter that the sections are readily removable. so that a greater orless number may be used according to the height of door required.

A further object of the invention is to construct the door ofcomparatively thin sheet metal reinforced by transversely extending ribsor cleats and to make use of these members as the means for hingedlyconnecting adjacent sections.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple lockingmeans for effectively holding the door against rattling when the car isin transit.

l These and other objects of the invention pertaining more'especially todetails of construction will be clearly brought out in the followingdescription and particularly dened in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrating a grain door constructed inaccordance with my invention and the embodiment of two such doors on acar are as follows z- Figure 1 is a view of a door from the inside of acar, portions of the door casing being shown.

Fig. is a View similar to Fig. l of the door as seen from the outside.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 5. Y

F101 4 is a portion of one of the guiding mem ers showing in plan viewthe means for adjustably securing two such members together.

zFig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of a car taken through thecenters of two opposite doors, the locking devices not being shown.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view ta: on the line 6-6 of Fig. l, butshowing only the bottom, topand one intermediate section.

Figs. 7 and 8 are top and face views, respectively, of one of thelocking devices, fragmentary portions of the door section to which it isattached and the adjacent guidmi member also being shown.

`1g. 9 shows in perspective fragmentary portions of two adjacent doorsections.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 11.

And, Fig. 11 is a view from the outs'" of one of the slides in thebottom section.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the severalviews.

The numerals 1, 1 represent the two opposite door openings of a box carin which 2 are the door frame members, 3 the floor, 4 the roof and 5 thecarlines.

Channel members 6 comprising guides for the doors extending upwardlyfrom the floor to points near the top of the door openings and then arecurved and extended transversely of the car close under the roof, thehorizontal portions of the guides for one door overlapping those for theother door. The outer edges of the vertical portions of the channeledguides are flush with their respective frame members 2 of the doorcasings.V Strap irons 7 connect the horizontal portions of the upperguiding members and have their ends bent upwardly and secured to plates8 carried by the carlines 5, while the lower guiding members are securedto the :upper ones by bolts 9 extending through y slots 10 in plates 11secured to the upper faces of the two such members and projectingoutwardly therefrom. This connection permits a relative movement of theoverlapping members, one upon the other, due to the rocking of the carwhen in motion, and relieves a strain which would otherwise be exertedon the guides.V

-Each door com rises a bottom section 12, top section 14 an one or moreintermediate sections 13. The lower edge of each section except thebottom one is turned 1nwardly atright angles to form a flange 15 adaptedto slidably engage in a corresponding groove Jformed by an outwardlyopening V-shaped flange 16 along the upper edge of the adjacent lowersection. Secured to each section except the bottom one, and on its innerface, is a reinforcing cleat 17 adjacent the lower edge and extendingparallel therewith. These cleats 17 are formed with two flat portions 18and 19 which engage the section body and are secured thereto by rivetsor other suitable means, a cor` rugation 2O intermediate the portions'18and 19, and a flange portion 21 extending rearwardly and terminating ina skirt portion 22 projecting downwardly in the rear of and a shortdistance below the channeled flange member 16 on the adjacent section.This construction, it will readily be observed, provides a hingedconnection between the several sections whereby a ilexibility is securedpermitting the doors to be moved from open to closed position7 or viceversa, and in which open position they lie one above the other asindicated in Fig. 5 by the dotted lines 50 for the upper and 51 for thelower door.

The top section 14 differs -from the intermediate ones 13 in that it hasa reinforcing cleat 23 along its upper edge instead of a liange 16, andthe bottom section 12 differs from the intermediate ones in that it hasalong its lower edge a reinforcing cleat 24 instead of a flange 15 and,also, a strip 49 of flexible material as canvas, which prevents leakageunder the bottom of the door.

The open ends oi the horizontal portions of opposite guiding members 6are connected by stop rods 25 extending through such members andthreaded on their ends to receive retaining nuts 26. vWhen the doors areraised to open positionvtheir movement in one direction is limited bythese rods 25 and in the other direction toward their closed position bygravity latches 27 formed preferably of wire substantially as shown.These latches are pivoted at 28 on the curved portions of the guides 6and are limited in their downward movement by the portions 2,9 whichengage the guides 6 as stops.

When itis desired to change the number of intermediate sections 13 inorder to make one of the doors of greater or less height, the door israised to its open position and the stop rod 25 removed. Thenv the dooris `moved forward until the top section 14 is beyond the open ends ofthe guides after which this section is moved Vlongitudinally and thusdisengaged from the adjacent section. Another intermediate section canthen be added or, if desired, another section removed by .again movingthe remaining sections ofthedoor so that the outer one will bedisengaged Jfrom the guides 6. It might be stated that the door isassembled in this manner, that isf-by placing the bottom section 12between the guides 6 and after each succeeding section is added movingthe door toward its closed position a distance equal to the width of onesection. The flange members 15, it will -be noticed, slidably engage inthe grooves formed by the coperatn ing flanges 16 and are held againstlateral withdrawal by the skirt portions 22 of the cleats 17. Theflanges 15 and 16 and the cleats 17 besides forming hinged connections,which permit removal of the sections from each other, also ser-ve toreinforce the sections so that they can be made of' comparatively thinmetal.

rlhe depth of the doors is slightly less than the width of the channelsin the guides 6 to permit freedom of movement; and to prevent a rattlingof the doors when the car is in transit, and a possible leakage at thesides, suitable wedging members 30 or locking devices, as I prefer tocall them, are provided which engage within the channeled guide 6 tofirmly hold the several door sections against the outer side walls ofthe guides.

There are preferably two oi these locking devices 30 for each sectionlocated on the inner side and adjacent the ends thereof, and eachcomprises a circular plate 31 secured to a stud 32 projecting throughthe section body and rotatable in a bearing plate 33, a raised segmentalportion 34: being formed on the plate 31 and having a cam surfaceadapted, when turned to operative position, to engage the inner sidelwall of the adjacent guide 6 with a wedging action so as to force theouter face of the section body firmly against the outer side wall of theguide. The outer ends yof the studs are squared to receive an operatingkey for turning the locking devices 30 to operative or inoperativeposition. Latches 35 pivoted at one end at 47 on the outside of the doorhave notches 48 in their opposite end for engaging the squared heads onthe studs 32 to hold the members 3() in operative position.

When the car is loaded it is preferable to release some of the grain soas to vreduce .the pressure against the doors that they may be moreeasily opened, and to this end the bottom sections 12 are each providedwith, preferably two, elongated openings 36 normally closed by slidingpanels 37, such panels being interposed between the body of the sectionand supporting and guiding plates 38 in which there are openings 39substantially similar to and directly back of the openings 36. Eachpanel is held closed by means of a staple 40 thereon engaging through anopening in a latch 41 linked at one end to a staple 42 and slotted nearits other end to engage over a staple 43 through which a tapered pin 44or other suitable retaining means is inserted to hold the latch inplace, the staples 42 and 43 being secured to the body portion of thesection 12. Handles 45 and 46 are provided on the outer and inner faces,respectively of the bottom sections 12.

It is believed that from the foregoing the construction, operation andpurpose of the grain door are sufliciently clear to call for no furtherexplanation.

What I claim is l. A sliding door of the character described comprising,in combination with channeled guides in which the side edges of lthedoor engage, a plurality of separable sections, inwardly turned abuttingflanges formed along adjacent edges of adjoining sections, one of saidflanges being doubled upon itself to form an outwardly opening groove inwhich the other of said flanges slidably engages, and means carried byone section for overhanging said grooved flange on the other section,such means preventing lateral withdrawal of the engaging flanges.

2. A sliding door of the character described comprising, in combinationwith rchanneled guides in which the side edges of the door engage, aplurality of separable sections, inwardly turned abutting flanges formedalong adjacent edges of adjoining sections, one of said flanges beingdoubled upon itself to form an outwardly opening groove in which theother of said flanges slidably engages, and a reinforcing memberAcarried by and extending longitudinally of one section, such memberhaving a portion in a plane parallel with the plane of the door andoverhanging said grooved flange on the other section.

3. A sliding door of the character described comprising, in combinationwith channeled guides in which the side edges of the door engage, aplurality of separable sections engaging the outer walls of said guides,reinforcing members carried by and extending longitudinally of saidsections, such members extending inwardly and engaging the inner wallsof said guides, inwardly turned abutting flanges formed along adjacentedges of adjoining sections, one of said flanges being doubled uponitself to form an outwardly opening groove in which the other of saidflanges slidably engages, and a portion bent Afrom said reinforcingmember of one section so as to overhang the grooved flange on anadjoining section.

4. A sliding door of the character described comprising, in combinationwith channeled guides in which the side .edges of the door engage, aplurality of separable sections engaging the outer walls of said guides,reinforcing members carried by and extending longitudinally of saidsections, such members extending inwardly and ha\'- ing flanged portionsengaging the inner walls of said guides and lying parallel with theplane of the door, and inwardly turned abutting flanges formed alongadjacent edges of adjoining sections, one of said flanges being doubledupon itself to form an outwardly opening groove in which the other ofsaid flanges slidably engages, said flange portion of the reinforcingmember of one section overhanging the said grooved flange on anadjoining section.

5. A sliding door of the character described comprising, in combinationwith channeled guides in which the side edges of the door engage, aplurality of hingedly connected sections engaging the outer walls ofsaid channeled guides, and locking devices carried by each of saidsections movable to engage with a wedging action the sections and theinner walls of said channeled guides.

PARIS CHESEBRO.

